Extended Scene No Way Out
by msd1423daly
Summary: I thought Catherine's reaction to Vincent return after being missing for 3 days was out of character for her. So I rewrote it!


Extended Scenes

No Way Out

JT, Tess, Heather and Cat stood at the table in the Gentleman's club. Catherine is getting desperate.

"Well at least we now know who Braxton's beast is after and saving him might be the only way to save…"

The door slams open and in comes.

"Vincent" Heather reacts first.

Vincent approaches the table and slams down what appears to be a human heart.

"There is no beast and Braxton is not dead!"

Various shocked noises can be heard from all 4 of them around the table. Cat quickly recovers and races over to Vincent. Can it really be only 3 days since she saw DHS escort him away? It looks like he has aged 10 years.

"Oh my God, Vincent!" She rushes to him and throws herself into him, wrapping him up in her arms.

He closes his eyes, his body sways from exhaustion. The thought of getting back here and getting back to Catherine has been the only thing keeping him going. 3 days of sleep deprivation and damn near starvation has made him weak. As he starts to collapse, JT grabs hold of him.

"Whoa buddy, let me help you sit down."

Vincent slumps on the couch, bending over he places his head in his hands.

Catherine sits on the floor in front of him. Gently placing her hands over his.

"Vincent, it's OK, you're safe now."

He looks up at her, eyes moist. He wants to tell her everything, but is afraid. He doesn't want to scare her. He is here, he escaped and that is all he cares about.

"I'm ok…I could use some water." His voice is hoarse.

Tess brings him a glass of water and a mug with a shot of scotch.

"Here, thought you might want something a little stronger.'

He looks up at her.

"Thanks Tess."

Tess is shocked at how beaten Vincent looks. What did they do to him during the last 3 days? The look she exchanges with JT over Vincent's head tells her he is wondering the same thing.

After drinking the water and downing the shot, Vincent stands up albeit still shaky.

"I really need a shower." Pulling at his clothes that could probably stand up by themselves at this point.

Catherine stands up and putting her arms around him leads him to the shower.

Tess, JT and Heather exchange a look and JT gives voice to what they are all thinking.

"What in the hell did they do to him?"

Tess puts her arms around JT, acknowledging his worry for his friend.

"I am OK, really Catherine I can shower on my own."

He doesn't want her to see the physical toll the last 3 days has taken on him.

"Yeah, well I am not ready to let you be on your own yet. YOU may not NEED me to take care of you, but I NEED to take care of you."

Catherine turns on the shower, letting it heat up and warm the room.

Catherine helps Vincent take his shirt off. Bruises and scrapes cover his body. She holds back tears as she pulls the shirt off his shoulders, covered in abrasions and down his arms. His wrists are rubbed raw from whatever they used to bind him. She can tell he fought against them. His chest and stomach are black and blue, the bruises have red streaks in them. God they hit him hard enough to draw blood.

After getting his arms out, she peels the shirt off his back and lets it drop to the floor. His back is not any better, bruises and lacerations mar his torso.

"Vincent maybe we need to get a doctor to take a look at you."

He can still chuckle.

"I am a wanted man remember, plus I am a doctor. It looks bad, but nothing is broken or permanently damaged. It will heal."

Catherine is more worried about the scars on the inside, the ones she can't see. She knows Vincent can take pain, and he does heal more rapidly than before, now that JT was forced to inject Vincent with the healing property to save his life last year. But emotionally she is worried about him.

She finishes undressing him and helps him into the shower, getting soaked in the process. Vincent steps up to the water, letting out a sharp hiss as the water hits his body.

Catherine winces at Vincent's obvious pain.

"I am sorry, Vincent.

Vincent braces his forearms against the shower wall, letting the water course down his back. His forehead pressed into the shower wall between his arms. He breathes through the pain, letting the water wash away the lingering effects from his 3 day interrogation. Lost in his own mind, he forgets Catherine is there.

"I am not a monster….I am not a monster…..I am not a monster" His voice breaks.

Catherine freezes, the pain and anguish in Vincent's voice chills her blood. Her heart breaks for him. This man who only wants to save people and help people. For over 12 years he has been hunted and tortured and yet every time he manages to come through stronger, never losing his humanity, how much can he be expected to take?

Catherine quickly sheds her own, now wet, clothing, softly and gently she comes up behind Vincent. Placing her hands around his waist she presses herself carefully behind him. She is content to hold him, however long it takes. He is hers, and she will never let him carry this burden alone. He drops one of his arms and holds onto her hands. Letting her know, he knows she is there.

Catherine is not sure how much time as passed, but she eventually feels Vincent relax. He lifts his head and turns around, hissing again as the hot water hits his back. Catherine's face reflects the pain he is in. He leans down to kiss the look off of her face.

"Hey, I am ok."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Vincent shakes his head.

"There isn't really anything to talk about. They tried to break me and they failed."

"Vincent what did they do to you?" Catherine asks softly.

"The usual, no sleep, not much food, painful injections, ice water showers and lots of questions and when they didn't get answers they would get frustrated and hit me."

"Oh Vincent." Catherine buried her face into his chest, tightening her hold on him.

"They tried to break me Catherine, they tried to convince me that I was nothing."

"That you were a monster?'

She asks. She is looking up at him, trying with everything that she has to show him that he is not.

"Yes, they tried but they failed. You see the interrogator tried to use you to get to me, but that backfired. I ended up hallucinating you and once I realized I wasn't losing my damn mind, you helped me figure out that Braxton was the one behind all this."

"I helped you?"

He kisses her gently. Wrapping her up, he holds her close, skin to skin, the water rushing over them. She is his gem, she always has been.

"You always bring me back, Catherine, no matter what it's always you."

She smiles at him through tears. Cupping his face in her palm.

"You don't give yourself enough credit, Vincent."

He kisses her again, this time with passion building, but they have a job to do and Vincent knows it won't be long before DHS comes here looking for him. He breaks off their kiss.

"There is nothing I want more than to stay in this shower with you and finish what we started, but we need to find out if that body is really Braxton."

"Then let's go find out."


End file.
